Wilson, Goldfein outline Air Force progress, need for larger force

Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein told the House Armed Services Committee Tuesday that the Air Force must get bigger and funding must be predictable to meet – and defeat – security threats at home, globally and in space in an era of great power competition.

“In fiscal year 2020, we will continue to build a more lethal and ready Air Force, while fielding tomorrow’s Air Force faster and smarter,” Wilson and Goldfein said in a joint posture statement.

They cited findings from the independent and bipartisan National Defense Strategy Commission to explain the stakes. “Regardless of where the next conflict occurs or which adversary it features, the Air Force will be at the forefront,” the commission said.

Increasing the number of operational squadrons to 386 from the current 312, a number designated after rigorous analysis is necessary for the Air Force to meet requirements in the National Defense Strategy and to “prevail over our highest priority competitors,” the commission said. The analysis from which 386 was derived included thousands of simulations and war games and “produced an unmistakable conclusion: the Air Force is too small for what our nation needs.”

Building a more lethal and ready force
“We are more ready for major combat operations today than we were two years ago. More than 90 percent of our pacing squadrons are ready to ‘fight tonight’ with their lead force packages,” Wilson and Goldfein said in their Fiscal Year 2020 Posture Statement to Congress.

They also said that readiness recovery is foremost about people with fiscal 2020 end-strength set to increase by 4,400 Airmen and 5,143 civilians. And the Air Force increased pilot production last year, graduating 1,211 pilots with production expected to hit 1,480 in 2020.

The service’s space budget also increases in 2020 with a 17 percent increase over the 2019 budget, building on advances and further accelerating efforts to protect and defend the nation’s ability to operate in space.

The top service leaders also affirmed the importance of a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent. The Air Force provides two-thirds of the nation’s nuclear triad and 75 percent of the nuclear command, control and communications capability.

“Since the end of the Second World War over 70 years ago, every president and every Congress has supported the nuclear triad as a vital element of our national defense. We must continue to do so,” they said.

Fielding tomorrow’s Air Force faster and smarter
In this era of great power competition, Wilson and Goldfein said, “We cannot win this contest with an acquisition system from the Cold War. We must move fast to stay competitive, and we are fundamentally transforming what we buy, how we buy it and from whom we buy it.”

They also noted the advances the Air Force has realized in speeding up and streamlining the acquisition process. To date, the service has eliminated 71 years of “acquisition schedule time” and saved $15 billion in the last nine months. There is heightened focus – and results – from using prototypes, tailored acquisition strategies and agile software development.

The service, in the fiscal year 2020 budget, is set to continue the development and purchase of key weapon systems to include the KC-46 Pegasus, B-21 Raider and F-35 Lightning II, while also investing in modernized F-15EX’s to replace the aging F-15Cs.

“We remain committed to the F-35 and its game-changing capabilities, and will continue purchasing 48 aircraft each year,” they said.

The Air Force We Need is 386 operational squadrons
“Our study also shows more of the same isn’t the best answer. The Air Force we need must evolve to incorporate advanced technology and wield cutting-edge capabilities in new and innovative ways,” they said.

While the fiscal year 2020 budget lays the foundation for building “the Air Force We Need,” additional topline funding is required in future budgets to grow to 386 operational squadrons.

And central to meeting Air Force goals, Wilson and Goldfein said, is the necessity of predictable, consistent funding.

“No enemy in the field has done as much to harm the readiness of the Air Force than the combined impact of artificial spending restrictions, worsened by operating for 10 of the last 11 years under continuing resolutions of varied and unpredictable duration,” the joint statement says.

“Let’s be clear. We cannot fully implement the National Defense Strategy to protect America’s vital national interests with unpredictable and constrained budgets. We must come together to find a way forward,” they said.